Thread: Cigar humidification

I really have no idea. It is a 2 shelf thing, that looks like a leather bound book (you pull the spine out of a sleeve that would be the cover). The "title' of the book is Hispaniola. Never seen anything much like it, kinda cool to be different, but no idea if it's good or not? It was a gift of sorts from a former housemate (moved out and forgot it, and just said I could keep it)

Not familiar with it, but withthe variety out there, this is not a shock.
Might want to try out the beads of a puck, the wood will likely soak up a lot of moisture in the the first week or so, so you would have to refill/recharge the beads a few times. Another option is lo leave a shotglass full of distilled water in there, along with the puck, l;eaving the puck dry. This way, the wood and the beads will all absorb the water at the appropriate speed. leave ti sealed for 72 hours, then put in your (already humid!!) cigars, leave sealed for another 36 hours or so. You would NOT want to do this with the dry cigars, as the humidity fluctuation would be far too great for the wrapper.

Originally Posted by jockeys

it might depend on your climate. I live in a very dry place and if I keep the humidor below 70% my cigars become unsmokeably dry.

You might check your hygrometer's calibration. Even though it can be harder in a dry climate to maintain the humidor, ambient RH shouldn't affect the cigars; it's the RH inside the humidor that matters. I live in a very dry climate and like to keep my humidor at 60-65 percent. Any more than that and my cigars don't burn evenly and have a harder draw and occasional split wrapper issues.

Anyhow, your hygrometer might be lying to you. They can be as much as 10-15% off. It's not a big deal as long as you can use the hygrometer to put your cigars where you like them RH-wise but the calibration can be checked: salt test

I guess folks who've been storing/smoking cigars long enough often learn to gauge the proper humidity just from observing the cigars but I'm not at that place yet.

Originally Posted by AZrider

You might check your hygrometer's calibration. Even though it can be harder in a dry climate to maintain the humidor, ambient RH shouldn't affect the cigars; it's the RH inside the humidor that matters. I live in a very dry climate and like to keep my humidor at 60-65 percent. Any more than that and my cigars don't burn evenly and have a harder draw and occasional split wrapper issues.

Anyhow, your hygrometer might be lying to you. They can be as much as 10-15% off. It's not a big deal as long as you can use the hygrometer to put your cigars where you like them RH-wise but the calibration can be checked: salt test

well, my hygrometer is digital, so I don't think I can calibrate it

To calibrate, simply perform a salt test and note the difference of whats shown on the digital hygrometer. I just wrote the difference right on the hygrometer.

Some hygrometers can actually be calibrated if the housing is opened up and inspected for pots.
Most have them, although most manufacturers do not recommend opening up the housings for calibration.
Therefore, the ones without a simple method for calibration are reasonably accurate out of the box.

Originally Posted by Whiskers

To calibrate, simply perform a salt test and note the difference of whats shown on the digital hygrometer. I just wrote the difference right on the hygrometer.

azrider's article says the salt test will ruin a digital hygro...

Originally Posted by jockeys

azrider's article says the salt test will ruin a digital hygro...

beat me to it. Apparently, there are some digitals that you can salt test, but it will destroy most of the common models.

Thanks, I'll check on these bead/puck things.

However, any recommendation for an inexpensive, but decent humidor if I want to go that way?

I think the same website should have some decent humis at an OK price, but they will not be the deepest bargain ones. There are sites like cheaphumidors and bargainhumidors (I hope they still exist) that have been around for a while, and have a good selection. A site I used to be very active in has a section on humidors. Make sure you search the forums before asking questions, and introduce yourself first...they are a nice group of guys, but are protective of their forum and protocol. The site is cigarpass.com

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

beat me to it. Apparently, there are some digitals that you can salt test, but it will destroy most of the common models.

yeah, I cal'd mine with the hot wet rag test, and mine registered 99% so I figured it was pretty close.

where do you get your humidification beads? i've been using the sponge-type humidifier (that came with my savoy) and I hate it...